Sensational Strawberry Charlotte

Celebrate summer with this stunning Strawberry Charlotte Cake. Charlotte Aux Fraises is a no bake dessert consisting of a light and flavourful strawberry mousse encircled by a layer of softened ladyfingers. Simply style it with ripe red strawberries and edible flowers for an easy yet impressive grand finale.

Strawberries are the (unofficial) quintessential harbinger of summer and I am thrilled to bring you yet another FAB strawberry recipe! BTW if you type ‘strawberry’ into the search bar (upper right corner) you’ll find a treasure trove of recipes featuring this summer berry.

Quench your thirst with a Strawberry Mojito or refreshing Strawberry Limeade, bake them in a delicious crumble, cobbler, or muffin, or enjoy them as part of a summery salad.

Strawberry Charlotte

One look at this Strawberry Charlotte and you’ll fall in love. Not only is this exquisite dessert a pleasure to look at but it’s also simple to make. No, really! It’s as easy as assembling store-bought ladyfingers and mixing up a light and airy strawberry mousse.

The whimsical design means no fumbling with fondant, piping bags or other professional decorating methods yet it still looks incredibly impressive. Simply pile on gorgeous fresh strawberries and accent them with sprigs of fresh herbs and edible flowers. That’s it… no baking required!

We have a few summer birthdays in our family and no bake recipes like Strawberry Charlotte Cake recipe, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake and Chocolate Ice Box Cake are fabulous options for hot summer gatherings.

What is a Charlotte?

A Charlotte is an early 19th century classic French dessert similar to a bread pudding or icebox cake. It is made in mold lined with either sweet bread, sponge cake, Swiss roll, or biscuits, then filled with a custard, fruit purée, or mousse filling. The filling soaks up flavour and moisture, almost merging the two components into one.

There are many styles of Charlottes, from warm pudding like desserts to the more common cool, light, and airy mousse filled Strawberry Charlotte, or Charlotte Aux Fraises. Other fillings include Bavarian cream (Charlotte Russe or Charlotte Parisienne), layers of brown bread and applesauce (sharlotka), and layers of fruit and butter.

Finally, there are mousse-filled variations containing other fruit purées including raspberry, mango, blueberry, pear, apricot, and even one fruit free version featuring chocolate in place of fruit.

Ingredients for Strawberry Charlotte

All ingredients for this recipe can be found at most grocery stores, though you may need to go to a specialty store for the ladyfingers. Try to source organic edible flowers from your garden or reputable market and always inspect them for bugs!

• Water
• Lime Juice
• Granulated Sugar
• Unflavoured Gelatine Granules
• Strawberries
• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Cream Cheese
• Vanilla Extract
• Ladyfingers
• Edible Flowers and Herbs for decorating

Unflavoured gelatin powder can be found near the Jello and pudding in the baking aisle. Each pouch contains about 2 1/2 teaspoons (7g) unflavoured gelatine. If a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon, use one pouch of gelatine. In general, one pouch will gel 2 cups of liquid and up to 1 1/2 cups of solids.

You will need around 2 lbs of strawberries for this recipe. Wash them right before using and pick through them to separate the best looking ones for decorating.

This recipe was tested using full fat cream cheese and heavy whipping cream. Do not substitute with lighter versions.

Ladyfingers, or sponge fingers/Savoiardi, are low-density, dry, egg-based, sweet sponge cake biscuits roughly shaped like large fingers.

Finally, feel free to use edible flowers and fresh herbs from your garden or local market. Try camomile, pansies, violas, dandelions, cornflowers, tiny roses, lilacs, nasturtiums, marigolds, hibiscus, lavender, borage, zucchini flowers, calendula, snap dragons, or elderflowers.

How to Make a Strawberry Charlotte

While the instructions for this Charlotte recipe seem long, they are divided into smaller steps for ease of preparation. You will need a 10 inch springform pan for this recipe.

Make the Syrup

The lime simple syrup helps soften the ladyfingers. Use a pastry brush to brush it all over before the strawberry mousse is added.

To make the syrup, combine 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, and 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow to boil for 1 minute,
stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove syrup from the heat and cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes.

While the syrup cools, line the sides of a 10-inch springform pan with the ladyfingers, making sure the bottoms of the cookies are facing inward.  Line the bottom of the pan with the cookies, trimming to fit in the small spaces. Brush ladyfingers with lime syrup.

Make the Strawberry Mousse

Let’s begin by blooming the gelatine. Pour 6 tablespoons cold water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatine crystals over the surface. Let stand 5 minutes.

While you wait, place 2 ½ cups strawberries, sugar, and lime juice in a blender and blend until it becomes a smooth purée. Heat the bloomed gelatine in the microwave for 20 seconds, stir until completely dissolved, then slowly pour into the strawberry mixture and whisk for 5 seconds.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Add the strawberry jello mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat together until well combined.

Next, use a stand mixer or hand mixer with chilled bowls and whisks to beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form.

Pour half of the whipped cream into the strawberry cream cheese mixture and use a spatula to fold it in gently. Add remaining whipping cream and continue to fold until the colour of mousse becomes consistent.

Assemble the Strawberry Charlotte by pouring half of the mousse over the prepared ladyfingers and smoothing it out evenly. Layer the remaining strawberry pieces over the mousse the cover it with the remaining mousse. Smooth the surface, then place a piece of plastic wrap over the mousse and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and carefully peel away the plastic wrap. Release the spring form pan and remove the sides.

Place Strawberry Charlotte on a serving plate. Tie ladyfingers with string or ribbon and decorate the cake top with strawberries, edible flowers, and greenery. Remove string/ribbon to serve. Enjoy!

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Useful Tips for this Recipe:

• Bloom the gelatin granules in water before you begin. This helps open them up and prevents lumps or granular texture in the mousse.
• For maximum aeration, carefully fold the whipped cream into the strawberry jello cream cheese mixture.
• For best results refrigerate for at least 4 hours before slicing.  Keep any remaining slices refrigerated until ready to serve.
• Have fun decorating your cake.  You can get small edible flowers from your garden or from your local flower shop. Try camomile, pansies, violas, dandelions, cornflowers, tiny roses, lilacs, nasturtiums, marigolds, hibiscus, lavender, borage, zucchini flowers, calendula, snap dragons, or elderflowers.
• I highly recommend tying a ribbon or string around the outside of the ladyfingers when you are decorating it so the ladyfingers don’t separate from the cake.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I am the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

If you make this Sensational Strawberry Charlotte Cake recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in a recipe rating. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!